Devonport Naval Base plays a starring role in a new TV documentary

The Royal Navy in Plymouth’s Devonport Naval Base plays a starring role in a new television documentary series (Friday 26 February).

The programme features diverse subjects such as a wedding in Devonport Naval Base, a submariner leaving his family to deploy far away and a warship crew training on her main gun at sea.

Quest’s brand new six-part series Devonport: Inside the Royal Navy is an exclusive access, character-led observational documentary series about the men and women who work in the biggest naval base in Western Europe.

This is the baseport of the ‘Devonport Flotilla’, 20 of the Royal Navy’s biggest and most deadly warships and nuclear-powered submarines. Ten thousand people work here, and these are some of their stories.

Within this hi-tech and fascinating world, where the requirements of a modern, cutting-edge Navy blend with age-old tradition and ceremony, the six-part series meets a host of engaging characters and everyday people doing extraordinary things.

Against the constant backdrop to get warships and submarines in and out of port, for these people – Devonport’s engineers, marines, police, riggers, armory, officers and ratings along with many others – there are countless problems to overcome and tasks to carry out. There’s action, excitement, humour and warmth amid the sacrifices they make for their country.

Episode 2 features HMS Sutherland’s captain Commander Stephen Anderson testing his crew in firing the ship’s main 4.5-inch gun at sea, a weapon they may depend on one day to save their lives. So when the test does not reach his high standards, the captain isn’t impressed.

Meanwhile, back inside the naval base, it’s a tale of two hunter killer submarines: Luke, a submariner from HMS Talent prepares to marry his fiancé, but when the big day arrives she’s nowhere to be seen. And Dave the logistics officer of HMS Torbay says goodbye to his family before departing on a top secret operation.